Ice Hunt

The base had already vanished into the storm. Even the lights seemed more mirage than real.

They continued into the ice field. Je

Minutes passed. Je

Then a flickering light appeared. Kowalski swore. It had to be one of the base’s peripheral lamp poles, run off the generators. Disoriented, they had somehow circled back. But it made no sense. The wind was still in their faces.

A shadow suddenly darted through the weak glow. Dark and low to the ground…coming at them.

Je

It moved too fast to discern any details.

Out of the storm, the dark beast lunged.

Kowalski bent to take the brunt of the charge, a bear about to take on a lion.

Then in a blink, the snow swirled, transforming shadowy beast into heartfelt companion.

“Bane!” Je

The wolf could not push any closer to her, trying to merge his form with hers, scrambling, whining.

The light, borne aloft, approached. It was not a lamp pole, but a figure bearing a burning flare in hand. The shape, obscured by a thick parka, stepped toward them.

Je

U.S. Navy.

“I knew it had to be either you or your husband,” the newcomer said. Relief rang in his voice. It was Tom Pomautuk, the ensign left in charge of Bane. “Bane started whining, then suddenly ripped out of his lead.”

Kowalski gained his feet. “Where have you been hiding?”

The young ensign pointed his flare. “Sheriff Aratuk’s airplane. When the first explosion hit, Bane bolted out here.”

Going for the familiar, Je

“I had to follow,” Tom continued. “The dog was my responsibility. And once I realized what was happening, I thought I could use the radio to transmit a Mayday.”

“Did you reach anyone?”

Tom shook his head. “I didn’t have much time to try. I had to hide from the patrols, cram myself and the dog into the cargo space. But after the blizzard struck, I doubted anyone would risk coming out here. So I tried again. As a matter of fact, I was outside the plane, burning ice from the ante

Je

“Amen to that,” Kowalski said, a shiver trembling through his frame.

“What’s the plan?” Tom asked, leading them across the ice. The ghostly shape of the Twin Otter grew out of the white background.

Je

“You want to take off?” Tom asked, turning back to her. “Fly — in this weather?”

“I’ve flown in whiteout conditions before,” Je

They reached the plane, undid the storm ties, and yanked away the frozen chocks. Once ready, they climbed inside. Insulated from the wind, the cabin seemed fifty degrees warmer. Je

The plane’s keys were still where she had left them. She switched on main power and ran a quick systems check. All seemed in order. She flipped toggles, disengaging the engine-block heaters from the auxiliary battery.

“Here goes nothing,” Je

The engine noise was lost somewhat on the winds, but Je

She glanced to Kowalski. He shrugged as if reading her mind. What did it matter?

She throttled up slowly, letting the engines warm. Beyond the windows, she could vaguely make out the props stirring up the blowing snow.

After a full minute, she asked, “Ready?”

No one answered.

“Here we go,” she said, barely loud enough to be heard. It sounded, even to her, more like a prayer. She pushed the engines, the props chopped into the winds, and the Twin Otter broke from its spot on the ice. The plane slid on its skids, moving out.

Je

“Hang on,” she began to say, but was cut off.

“We’ve got company,” Kowalski said. He had craned around and was staring behind them.

Je

Hovercrafts.

Je

“Or they posted infrared scopes and spotted the engines heating up out here.”

A blast of rifle fire suddenly cut through the engine noise, sounding distant in the blanket of the storm. A few slugs struck the fleeing plane with sharp pings. But the tail assembly and storage spaces shielded the cabin.

Je

“They’re coming around!” Tom called from the backseat.

Je

Damn, those bikes flew fast.

She stared out into the storm breaking over her windshield, pressing against her, holding her back. This would never work. They didn’t have the time to fight the winds. She needed a new angle of attack — and there was only one other option.

“Hold on!” she called out.

She throttled down the port engine while kicking up the starboard. At the same time, she worked the flaps, one up, the other down. The Otter spun on its ru

“What are you doing?” Kowalski yelled, pushing off the window he had been pressed against.

Je

With the wind at their backs, the plane accelerated rapidly.

Kowalski realized where they were heading. Back toward the base. “You don’t have the clearance. You’ll never get the lift you need.”

“I know.”

The pair of hovercraft whirled out and back, spi

“We’ll never make it,” Tom whispered.

Je

From the corner of her eye, she saw the lights of the base appear ahead. Darker shadows marked the village of Jamesway huts.

The Otter sped toward them.

The vibrations of the ru

“Pull around!” Kowalski yelled. “We can’t make it!”